I went out and bought some of the Hercules tools, intending to review them, but it fell way down on my to-do list. Where were the new Hercules tools that were supposed to be coming out? The disappointment took some wind out of my sails.

There are indicators that more Hercules tools are coming out, but there aren’t any new listings on Harbor Freight’s website.

So, because of my emotional up and down about the Hercules tool family, I won’t let myself get excited about the new ICON line of hand tools and storage.

Harbor Freight has been very strategic with their product development, and has come out with some very popular tools that many customers do feel match up with or even best competing offerings.

It will be interesting to see how their upcoming ICON tools and storage hold up to tool truck brands, and other brands that master mechanics trust to handle their tool needs, wants, and demands.

Let’s assume that the new ICON tools will be exactly as advertised – premium automotive hand tool and storage offerings at value pricing. How vast will the product lineup be?

Okay, I’m going to allow myself to be a little optimistic. It would be nice to be able to drive down to a local Harbor Freight for a more premium hand tool instead of having to wait a few days for an online order. But, if I allow myself to take Harbor Freight’s ICON hand tool claims at face value, I’m still left wondering – will they have the tool(s) I need, or will the ICON product family focus on the basics I already have or don’t need?

There’s a few things that I have bought that when it breaks…. if it breaks I will buy it again…. hands down. The 1/2” and 3/4” earthquake xt has been phenomenal for me. Their ratchet wrench’s are pretty awesome too. Those I have had all my weight trying to break a nut lose and it didn’t bust teeth or bend. Their usgeneral chests are decent for the money. Their doyal needle nose pliers are great. Cutting wheels well you can’t beat it for a buck. Their free mag trays are incredible. Free tarps are great. Cause they don’t last long and I have about 20 stocked up lol. Don’t think I’ll buy another battery jump pack from them. Since I have my eye on a much much smaller one. They have everything out on display. Look at it play with it twist the stuff and whatnot. If it feels cheese peckery then it is. I do have to say the Hercules hammer drill has cracked one or so of my ribs lol. (Fine case of Stupid me move).

I must say that I agree, that’s definitely not the way to put that statement out there. I am an employee and I make sure that I make customers aware of the fact that the box says that, but I am also respectful about it. I’m well aware that there are many things that we sell which are not worth the money.

I’m ambivalent as well. I’ve purchased some items from HF lately that have been VERY good. Much better than the single use I expect out of HF offerings.

The drawback is prices are up as well.

If HF plays their cards right, they could become the new Sears of tool purchasing. Good enough for even heavy use, convenient to a large segment of the population, and priced better than more established lines that have cut quality beyond their price point.

Not even close. Harbor freight is likely to get more poorly built tools in the near future. If Trump can stop China from copying our designs then it will be the same old HF crap they’re selling now & less availability. Their are some good products but what happens when it breaks & you don’t have the extra warranty. I buy Milwaukee as the job requirements. Just bought one With a5 year prorated guarantee for a few bucks more than HF

What designs do you think the Chinese “stole” just to sell back to us? If it’s on a shelf here and made in China, Indua, Lesotho, Taiwan, Vietnam, or BF-Egypt it’s because an American company sent the prints there and ordered a million units. That’s capitalism for you.

Correct you are, most items are American owned company’s making big bucks.I know in my work I was required to film the machining process used and it was used in their Chinese operation only to later lose my job here.They are not totally to blame for this.Their labor rate is very small in comparison to USA.

I seen a leaked video of this tool box a couple months ago. It’s my dream box, and was really excited… then I did some research and my excitement quickly turned to sadness when I saw the price. There is nothing at Harbor Freight that should cost $7,000… totally ridiculous. If they sold that set-up for $2,700 they would sell a ton of them. I would be in at that price. That is still at a premium over their current box prices, so Icon would still be their flagship brand.

They’re reputation is decent homeowner level use 2x a year and be happy tools. I think they had a great marketing niche for that. Go in for a hammer come out with gloves, zip ties, and a clamp. Buy a router, sander, and angle grinder for the weekend project without spending a paycheck. The new stuff seems to be priced above the market niche they have. $65 for a Bauer drill vs a holiday drill and driver set for $100. I’ll find the $35 to feel I got a 2 for 1 with the extra battery.

Nice comments and I agree. I may go in the store for something specific (after researching) and come out with misc items, especially accessories not avail elsewhere locally or priced much lower such as zip ties, sand paper, Emery cloth, wire terminals, etc. I especially like their section with assorted nuts-bolts-screws-clips-etc.

I saw and fondled the new Icon tools at the SEMA show recently. They are not your typical Harbor Freight crap. They appeared to be well made, finished nicely, and had a nice feel and balance to them. They were made in Taiwan. I do think that they went too far in copying the plastic trays that Snap on uses but, that’s another story. I’m very curious as to what price point these tools will debut at. I don’t think they will be bargain priced. At SEMA the people running the ICON booth had their new rollaway with hutch displayed next a similar Snap on setup. The Icon box was a good looking box but, who is going to pay a lot of money for an HF box? I’m anxious for May to come around so, i can get a few things from Icon. They had some very nice looking ratcheting wrenches on display along with combination wrenches that have the same anti slip open end that you see on Carlyle wrenches and others. Perhaps Infar has a hand in making the new Icon tools.

I would ask who would pay the money SnapOn wants for one of their boxes? I see the potential of having a truck guy for the actual tools, but you must be hoping he is going to invite you to his lake house he just bought with your SO toolchest purchase. It’s not like the tools lose their warranty if they are in another box.

Professional toolboxes also hold a higher percentage of their value.
Parts are available for 30 yr old models.
If I was a full time mechanic like I was.
I would not touch HF for toolboxes,except for there current toolboxes.
And that is only because they’re cheap in price.
Any non professional brand Husky/DeWalt/Kobalt/HF/Milwaukee/Now Craftsman have constant model changes and no parts around for the long term.

Toolboxes don’t make you money. I work professionally out of a Craftsman box I’ve had for 18 years and the money I don’t pay for storage setup I can spend on tools to fill it. Tools that actually increase income.

I would agree with that. There are better uses for tool money than spending 5 figures on storage. My wood shop had $100, 000 ($Can) of tools and hardware. Maybe $1000 for materials, and 100 hours labour was enough to keep everything perfectly sorted. The equivalent storage capacity in Snap-on, would have exceeded the value of what was in them.

Tool trucks sell service and convenience. I’m not going to drop $7k on a tool cabinet if I have to lug the thing back to the store when it breaks. Tool Trucks also offer easy financing. No one pays $18k out of pocket, they pay $100/week for the next 180 weeks. 😛

Looking specifically at that ball joint tool; You can buy that from a dozen different “brands” on amazon for $45-$60. The only difference is going to be the plastic case. If they can compete with that, cool. But I have a feeling they’re going to target the OTC or Truck brands and try to sell a “killer deal” at twice the actual cost. It’s hard to profit when the factory is selling straight to consumers through amazon.

Those cheaper ball joint remover sets are cheap for a reason – the C-frame is cheaper alloy and will spread apart when used like they generally get used.

The USA-made OTC ball joint kits are way better for the slightly higher price. The older USA ones are even better if you can get one, but the newer USA-made OTC kits are a heck of a lot better than the non-US-made OTC kits, too.

Where those imported kits just keep spreading apart the more you tighten it, the OTC kit just pushes out the ball joint before the frame is even stressed.

The problem and others have is associating one cheaper brand with all of the cheaper brands. The reality is all cheaper brands aren’t bottom of the barrel, and some of the name brand things are coming out od the same factories as the bottom of the barrel examples. HF has always (at least during the close to 20 years I’ve bought stuff there) had varying levels of quality on a lot of their handbooks. And they’ve been extending that trend across a larger swath of their products since. The greatest thing about HF is you have a choice to go the cheaper route when you just need something that will work, right now, without breaking the bank. Or you could shell out more for a quality to that’s going to last as long as you snap on or craftsman. Theyve already had some really nice tool chest options. I can’t see any quality increases to warrant higher prices than their current top options other than to more directly compete with the familiar pro name brands, and the people who believe 100% that price is proportionally related to quality. Sure, the cheapest tool (or chest) isn’t going to compare to the high-end models, but plenty of middle of the road options (as far as price) match or exceed the quality of their high priced counterparts. You have to be an informed shopper at HF. There are some fantastic deals to be found there among all of the mediocre products. And with all receipts being attached to your email now, their free, on the spot handtool replacement is infinitely more convenient than trying to keep track of all of those paper receipts.

There is probably room in the tool-buying marketplace for lost of different approaches and options.

The tool truck guys offer service – delivery at the workplace and financing. Owing your soul to the company store (as in the old Tennessee Ernie Ford song) – is the big downside. The lure of “easy” financing has been the downfall of many a good worker.

Cheap tools – at the other end of the spectrum also must have an appeal – witness the expansion of the number of Harbor Freight stores nationwide.

But now HF seems to be looking for a wider audience – and maybe they can garner one – but not from what I’ve seen as their regular customer base – when I’m in my local HF buying chip brushes or nitrile gloves. And then there is the “stink” figuratively and literally (or olfactorily) associated with trying to sell high priced goods in the same store with a mix of decent tools and lots of junk that smell like bad plastic.

Yeah, this is one of my biggest grips with HF. Clean up the store and get rid of the smelly stuff and maybe you’ll attract more customers. Some of the stench is the tires, both the ones they sell individually and the ones on the equipment they sell, but the rest of that stench is the cheap metal and oil and fluids on all of it keeping it from rusting. That all needs to go and get replaced with higher quality stuff that’s cured and doesn’t stink.

I hope they update their current US General tool boxes to be the newer style of tool box without the top lip but taller than the short Husky and Milwaukee stuff. Closer to the Craftsman Professional line but without the bells and whistles and slightly lighter duty, on par with the current US General boxes. Those would sell a lot, IMO. Put the top shelf at 5’6″ so even shorter guys/girls should still be able to reach everything on it.

These 5′ tall top shelves from Husky/Milwaukee need to stop, such a waste of space. At least make an optional center chest so we can get it to a proper height.

I have only recently found HFT. (I lived over seas for 20+ years) when I first started shopping with HFT I called it Hobby Freight due to the Ikea or H&M disposable nature of their product. I’ve noticed a huge increase in the quality of the merchandise and the employees. I WOULD spend 7k @HFT over 18K on the competitor. I like the small store aspect the personalized service and general feel of the neighborhood store.

As a blanket response to comments regarding the Icon tool boxes & their possible price points… In comparison to the $20,000.00 box and set up; $7K is about 1/3rd. the price. For a start-up Auto repair/ service business, {for example}; the possibility of 3 for the price of the 1… would be like winning the lottery.

My disappointment in the Hercules line is that none of the tools are brushless, and I got a DeWalt brushless impact driver with longer battery life and same inch pounds impact rating for $10 less than HF at Sears when they started pouring on the coals trying to save themselves.

Room in the market for good tools with a warranty and enough retail locations to provide service. Snap On and other truck service tools are awesome, but way over priced for me and most guys that are not pros but are willing to spend our Saturday’s to avoid paying $200 for brakes and $600 for ball joint jobs.

If you want a Snap-On or MAC tool box just find a good local dealer and ask if they have any repo box’s or trade ins. They are like cars in that the first guy takes the hit on the cost. The Harbor Freight box’s are good to great for home storage where you basically leave the box in one spot its entire life. Load them up with tools and move them around and see which one is still standing in a few years. The new Snap-On box’s are made entirely in the USA. Even the drawer slides and lock and tumbler mechanism are made in the states.

I was a pro mechanic for 40 years, never drank the Snap On kool-aid. Most of my hand tools are Craftsman, at about 30 percent of the price, the same warranty, and you didn’t have to wait a week to get a replacement. Now that I’m retired, I have found the Kobalt line from Lowe’s to be a good value and decent quality, seeing as how I am only maintaining my own vehicles and helping out a few neighbors.

Well you had craftsman/Powerade available back then so this is an apples to oranges comparison.
I started out in automotive in the mid 90’s and I had to keep 4 ratchets of the most common sizes in rotation so I had 2 available at all times.
Better tools were around from old companies like s-k, Napa,Western forge , etc.
Every non professional company is run by an investment firm and have constant model changes and won’t warranty because they don’t have a replacement.
I’ve bought several Huskey and Kobalt toos 10 years ago and can not get them warrantied because they’ve been discontinued.
I had about 45k(New value) of snap-on that I bought from eBay,and pawn shops for 45% as I had cash money.
Any company that has been sold,or started in the last 10 yrs I will not purchase hand tools
from.
For example look at S-K when they went belly up

I had a friend who worked as a lead tech at a shop here in town right across from Sears many years ago. No Harbor Freight back then. The Snap On truck was there every month and most of the employees there bought right into it. The financing/payments were too easy to say no to. And they were getting USA made ‘pro’ tools. My friend bought a few niche items from the Snap On guy, but I remember it like yesterday when he told me he wouldn’t buy anything else. His reasoning? “I can go across the street to Sears and get a USA made tool for less than half the price and if it breaks, I can go get a new replacement for free that same day”. Sears stocked singles of nearly everything… No waiting for the Snap On guy to come back to get a tool replaced.

There were several guys like that around here before Sears went to China. Guys who work with their hands daily tend to be the USA loyal blue collar types. I don’t know anyone who shops at Harbor Freight who isn’t a weekend warrior looking for something on the cheap to get them by. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. By all means, there’s a group to be served there so why not? That group however isn’t going to be buying Icon tools and tool boxes. They’re going to go the monthly payment route through the Snap On guy.

I do see an opportunity however for Lowe’s. I saw at the Craftsman launch there was some higher end Red mechanic’s USA boxes that looked heavy duty. I haven’t seen them in stores yet though. If SBD could get some USA hand tools stocked in singles next to some boxes like that I could see them picking up customers like Old Sears had. If a guy wasn’t going to go Snap On, I can about guarantee he’d go USA Craftsman for a few bucks more long before Taiwan Icon. Just my opinion….

I completely agree. I am however that weekend warrior and I still want quality. HB offers an alternative that I can afford but I k ow better than to buy a Dremel type rotary tool for $9.99 and expect quality. I read the reviews from my fellow man and easily determined I should look elsewhere because my “weekend” project is detailed and i need a tool that wont disappoint.

Actually. I run a mechanical contracting company with over 60 employees. We dont advertise. And can’t keep up were always swamped. We buy from harbor freight certain things. Nothing from mac, snap on, or any tool truck. Maybe for the shop for special tools. But that’s it. Power tools we buy milwaukee. Little bosch, and dewalt, and makita. No power tools although from harbor freight. Air tools yes.

Harbor freight has already introduced itself to the public as a low budget tool store. This has been the case for many of years and that reputation will remain. When I buy a tour from Harbor freight I know what I am buying and I’m more than happy with the price. I don’t understand why they would want to change the very reason they have became a success. If I want a good tool box I am going to go to a manufacturer that has been in business and proven itself in the industry. I am not going to drop thousands of dollars on a promise from a store who is known to sell budget tools. I really like harbor freight tools and the new marketing pitch may just hurt their business. They have been very successful at this point why change things now. But that’s just my opinion

Homak has their 72 inch H2pro combo with upper and lower listing at $4,096. On sale right now for $2,399. At the manufacturers own website They are well made units and better made than Series 2 that I own. If I had room I would get this Homak

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GC4OJdCOyvE. For your viewing pleasure. Taiwan tools have steel metallurgy now equal to the U.S. And are not covered by the tariffs. Now it is a question of design differences.

I’d say Harbor Freight is better than WalMart and has alot of stuff you can’t buy at home depot or lowes. I’ve recently purchased their heavy duty mower lift and that has worked out great and looks like it hold up long term.

For what its worth, the few items I bought at HF the past two years broke after a few uses. Sawzall, ratchet and drill. All broke. Not a good service reliability record. So when they announce new “professional” mechanics tools, I find that statement dubious. Maybe, they will prove us wrong but for my money, I prefer to spend a lit bit more for a lot more service and use. Their plier combos are enticing at 3 for under 12$ but prefer a $25 set of made in USA Channellocks that will last a lifetime. So, I hope HF proves me wrong and makes awesome ICON tool line.

I will say it’s interesting – like the hercules thing. but like the hercules thing it’s overpriced for what you get. we said it before in the other discussion hercules is a knockoff Dewalt something. sure and that’s not horrible in it self but what is horrible is that I can often buy the Dewalt thing for a few dollars more. And I mean a few. take that mitre saw – HF wants you to pay them 300

I wonder if these items are going to be knock off MAC or Proto like tools. I suspect so. and I bet they will be similar prices. I know I wouldn’t buy either of those tool boxes for that money.

It’s now like Shoping at Sam’s or Costco. Be aware of the price of what you’re buying – it’s probably not an actual deal. But you’re in the store anyway and it looks good. I shop with my smartphone alot these days.

I’m a little late to the party (conversation) but I’m hoping Stuart or one of his writers will comment: the comparison chart above says that the sheet metal is “16/18 gauge” and that both columns are just a “yes”. That sounds like BS to me… is there any way that the industry uses nomenclature like that? Or is this HFT’s way of saying, “we use 18 gauge steel and they use 16 gauge but we want the comparison to look identical”?